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Thursday, January 14, 2016

Jaffna

The same tuk-tuk driver who dropped me at the bus station, the previous day came by to pick me this day as well. He is quiet happy to see
me, an Indian. On our way to the railway station he stops at his house and
collects his packed breakfast. He then makes sure he comes to the ticket
counter and checks on the tickets and train timings for me. The first available train
is a AC chair train and a ticket costs Lrs 1000. Given a choice, I would have
preferred a second class ticket to observe the locals but unfortunately the
next passenger train is very late. The tuk-tuk driver gives me a firm
handshake and leaves.

I wait for the platform gates to open.
Apparently that happens only half an hour before the train arrives. The train arrives 15 minutes late. The locomotive seems brand new and is very comfortable but the ride is bumpy like one is sitting on a horse. I gather from my
lonely planet book that India not only funded this railway line to Jaffna but
Indian railways helped build this track. I feel happy about it and somewhere get a sense of the reason behind the high regard Sri Lankans have for us.

A few very noisy upper middle class Sri
Lankan families are in our compartment. Not only are the kids screaming but the
mothers are also very noisy. It is also interesting to notice that they are
speaking in English. I am reminded of some Indian families who make a lot of
noise in public areas and speak in English to seem modern or classy. I use my earphones
and play loud music. A Japanese traveler sitting opposite me smiles at me and
points towards the ear buds he is using. I smile back and give him a thumbs up.
I have traveled in the villages and smaller towns in this country but all the
villagers seem well mannered and less noisy than these educated upper middle
class families. I being to wonder if there is something wrong with our education.

The vegetation changes from forests to paddy
fields. People are dressed in Lungi and Saree and Chudidhars. The place
resembles very much a part of south India.

At the railway station, I speak to the Japanese
traveler Tadashi and learn that like me, he too is looking for the same hotel - Theressa inn suggested by the lonely planet. We decide to walk there and learn that
the place is full. Go to the next place suggested called Saras. Saras is a beautiful old mansion converted into a hotel. Here a Tamil speaking manager
greets us. Tadashi and I decide to share a room so that its less expensive. The behaviour of this manager is very
different from the people at London Palace. He seems less polite. "If
you loose room keys Lrs150 will be charged", he says. For which, I tell him
the the AC remote is not working thus reminding him of his duty.

For renting the scooter we go back to
Theressa inn. We hire a scooter and take off on a city tour. First we stop at a
pure vegetarian restaurant to have a meal. I am delighted to find boiled rice.
In Jaffna boiled rice seems to be a common replacement to white rice just like
my hometown. The cuisine resembles very much like that of south India but the taste is not the same though, it is not comparable with that of India. But then I cannot expect Indian cuisine to taste better elsewhere.

We stop by a few churches listed in the lonely
planet book but all of them are closed. We next ride to the Jaffna public
library. The library was burnt during the riots of 1981 by a group of sinhalese
protestors and a lot of ancient Tamil scriptures got burnt. I was surprised to
see a photo of the building in ruins inside the library. Post war, the library was
renovated and rebuilt. Unfortunately on Monday the archives section is closed
but I get to see a lot of locals busy reading newspapers. This again reminds me of India. Many here are interested in reading and news which I rarely saw in other
parts of the country that I came from. I take a newspaper and read a few
headlines. I am happy to read an article on our prime minister Modi talking about him being a self
made leader. Sunday observer is a very thick newspaper with several
leaflets and looks very informative.

Jaffna fort is under renovation. There are some exhibits or posters that give us an insight of the fort built by the
Portuguese and then renovated or reconstructed by the dutch.

I must say that in Jaffna, I felt a certain calmness. Having
known about the civil war that predominantly took place here, this could have
been an influenced thought but even otherwise, there seemed to be a strange silence here, a forced kind, a sad kind, a frustrated kind. I am not going to explore this thought further and just
leave it at this.

At Nallur Kandaswamy temple we witness the evening pooja. Like in many south Indian temples, one has to remove their shirts before entering the temple. The customs are slightly different from that in India. The
temples are very colourful, the pooja itself is a brief one. After the pooja
the priests all assemble outside the shrine and chant a prayer. All are
offered Vibuthi (Ash) after the Pooja.

On my way back, I happen to cross Alliance
Française de Jaffna. I decide to go in. I speak to the director who is very happy to show their excellent collection of books. He tells me that he
uses a different curriculum to teach people here and do not necessarily refer a
particular book. He uses translations of Tamil poems to French and vice versa. He shares with me a brochure of an art center near Kandy that is
setup by a friend of his and houses some interesting art work and heritage. After a small chat with him I head back to the hotel.

We dine at a restaurant called Cosy. Its a nice
place that serves Indian style food. Tadashi shares his travel experiences in the African desserts, on climbing
Kilimanjaro and other interesting stories. He has traveled almost half the
world already. Its great to hear such inspiring stories of other travellers. He
complains about the younger generation who always book everything in advance on internet and travel. According to him it is a cheap way to travel.
Backpacking on the other hand, he finds interesting and adventurous as you are
constantly surprised.

While returning back to the hotel, we see a
bunch of boys singing and dancing in front of a shop. I stop to see what is going on.
One boy is dressed as santa clause and is dancing to the song being sung by
some and music being played by the others. The shop keeper pays them an
amount after the performance and the boys walk away to their next location. They
wish us merry christmas before leaving.

From Anuradhapura to Jaffna this seems like a journey to a different place altogether. The traditions have changed, the culture has changed and the language has changed. Here the locals did not seem to get very excited about the foreigners, they seemed rather occupied in what they are doing. There were no wannabe guides here. This part of the country felt different.Route - Anuradhapura -> Jaffna